P$ says Happy 4th of July! He also recommends a classic movie.

Well Happy 4th folks! It’s a great day to meet with family and friends, pop open a cold one and play with explosives. Ah yes, alcohol and fire-works: the staple of the 4th of July and America itself. Have a wonderful and safe day. Hopefully you are all going on picnics and enjoying the sun. That is unless you’re from central New York. It has been grey for the past week and today is no different. It will be nice to add some color in the sky later tonight.

I was thinking about what to update LBR with on this holiday. I can’t think of anything better than touching upon one of my favorite movies.

Patton

one in the same

Patton: You know I actually pity those poor bastards we’re going up against, by God I do. We’re not just going to shoot the bastards, we’re going to cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks.

I love the beginning of this movie. It’s iconic, patriotic, and simply better than any speech in the LOTR: Return of the King. (Hey Necca, I dareyou to disagree on America’s birthday!) A four star general in front of a gigantic American flag motivating forces before they go into battle. The writers of Patton took exerts from different speeches that Patton made and put them together make the speech that George C Scott gave in the movie.

The movie is awesome. It won seven academy awards including best picture and best actor. George Scott actually declined the award stating that he didn’t think he did Patton justice. Patton was bigger than life I suppose. The movie chronicles Patton’s campaign throughout northern Africa, the invasion of Sicily, and his contribution to the Battle of the Bulge. It shows his relationships with General Omar Bradley and the British General Bernard Montgomery. He is feared by the Germans for his drive and determination to never hold the line. He frustrated American military leaders by disobeying orders and taking over towns that were suppose to be given to the British. The movie portrayed him as a rebel of his time. He was almost indestructible. The movie is also filled with one-liners that Patton made throughout his World War 2 career.

The movie came out in 1970. At the time the country was in the midst of the Vietnam war. The studio didn’t think that the movie would make much money based upon the attitude that the country had at the time. The rebellions and protests against the Vietnam war gave the studio much clout in their argument. The producers had to think of a way to get this movie going and show the studio that it could make money. The way that the producers pitched the movie was terrific and made a lot of sense at the time. Patton was a rebellious General. The producers used that as their argument. They told the studio that they could get both the “hawks”(pro-war) and the “doves”(anti-war) to go see the movie. In fact, they were going to originally call the movie Patton: A Salute to a Rebel.

The producers were right. Patton came out and it drove people with diverse opinions of Vietnam to the theaters. The hawks saw the movie as a pro-war film with America in the lime-light while the doves claimed the movie supported anti-war sentiments. It’s actually genius because he does both brilliantly. The movie showed the patriotism that both the hawks and doves claimed to have for their country. The hawks looked up to Patton as a strong military leader that was the staple of courage and strength while the doves related to the rebellious side of him that was always going against authority and the status quo. Perfect!

I highly recommend this movie if you haven’t seen it. It’s a brilliant war film that is much more about battles and glory. It’s about the strengths and flaws of a brave American General in a time of great peril. He was unpredictable to both the Germans and the Allies.

Have a wonderful 4th of July and remember those who have fought for this country and for our freedom. Many countries cannot pin point the actual date that their nations were formed. We can… we have the documentation and signatures.

Alright folks, have a wonderful and safe 4th. I’m off to eat ribs and drink beer. I’ll probably blow some things up in the process.

Until next time,

Dizzle

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